| It’s hard to believe that nearly five years have slipped
away since Greg Shrader passed from this existence. But in what
has evolved into an annual event, this month’s coffee house
will have Greg’s touch. A long time ago, he suggested the
idea of a songwriter’s workshop. As most of you know, Greg
wrote a lot of choice songs. Along with being more than competent,
he was quite knowledgeable about the craft musically, lyrically,
spiritually, and any other way you can think of. His original vision
was to do the workshop as a session by and for songwriters, possibly
as a sidelight to the Delmarva Folk Festival. It wasn’t too
much of a challenge to convince him that others would be interested
too, so the idea of a songwriters coffee house was born. This really
is a performance for any audience, not just those blessed to be
able to create these things we call songs. There is little if any
technical jargon thrown around, and no explanation about why this
chord progression works and that one doesn’t. You’ll
hear about the real-world inspiration for songs, where the ideas
come from, and why many creations never see the light of day.
For the few months before his passing, Greg and I had been working
on the idea. He was committed to doing it in June of 2002 and had
it pretty well cultivated in his head as far as format and who else
he wanted on stage with him. Sadly, events intervened and I never
got the chance to get the whole picture. I’m only aware of
a few good friends he wanted there, but know he had others in mind.
After Greg left us, it was decided to go ahead and try to make
it work. If nothing else, it would be as good a tribute to Greg
as there could be. We’ve pulled it off five times now, and
it seems fitting to try to do it around this time every year, just
because. It’s usually been a June event, but Roy Book Binder’s
touring schedule meant we had to be a little flexible and move Greg
to May. I don’t think he’d mind making room for Roy.
Deloy Moore
was one of Greg’s picks and he’ll be leading things
again this year, along with his daughter Larissa. Deloy has written
enough songs to fill several thick notebooks (I’ve seen them).
He writes about life from a lot of different angles and in different
styles and will of course have a Greg song or two to dispense. Deloy
has brought back his daughter and one other veteran from last year,
and has recruited three newcomers to our stage to explore the fine
art of songwriting.
With her soulful voice and skilled guitar playing, Larissa
Moore is no stranger to the music scene. Being the daughter
of a local musician has given her a lifelong exposure to music.
In addition to her father, her musical influences include Janis
Joplin, Pat Benatar, and Mariah Carey to Johnny Cash, Tom Petty,
and the Cranberries. From her very first performance at a Delaware
Friends of Folk Coffee house at age 15 through today, Larissa has
been a popular performer at local open microphones, churches, and
talent shows.
While primarily a solo performer, Larissa has had experience playing
with a few local bands and her current project is the new group
The Lusionistics. Now 20, she writes and performs her own material
and has learned piano and bass guitar. Larissa’s eclectic
musical sets consist of original material as well as contemporary
covers of various popular artists.
Also returning from last year’s sessions is Smyrna native
Todd
Murray. Keeping it in the family, he is Deloy’s nephew
and we are delighted to have him back at the Greg Shrader Songwriter
Circle. At the ripe old age of 21, Todd has written a number of
songs by himself and in collaboration with Justin McNatt. He has
a unique guitar and voice styleTodd will have his latest CD with
him as well. The CD, recorded in 2006 and entitled "My Story",
was recorded in true indie fashion in his bedroom with a MRS 1608
mixer.
New to the Circle but not to our coffee house is Mike
Roots. Now living near Newark, Mike has cut into the Philadelphia
music scene with his “Aggressive Acoustic” style and
rhythmic slap-guitar. He has performed at venues such as WXPN's
"World Cafe Live" and the Grape Street Café in
Philadelphia, the now-closed Kahunaville in Wilmington, East End
Cafe in Newark, and also, multiple special live radio broadcast
from the studios at WVUD. Mike is also a part of the progressive
collection of artist know as "Shades of Acoustic," where
he is a primary founder and leader of the program.
Through numerous life trials and sentences, he has continually looked
to music for relief from the surreal anxieties of life. His lyrics
paint an emotionally enriching picture through twisting lines of
poetry.
Glynis Sampere was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina
back in the fifties when Brenda Lee and Patsy Cline were hot. Being
in the bible belt, it was not uncommon to hear relatives get together
and jam on Sunday afternoons. Her Dad played guitar and sang country
and gospel tunes hoping that someday his kids would follow in his
footsteps. However, divorce separated them and Glynis moved to Delaware
with her mother and stepfather taking with her a guitar her Dad
gave her in the hopes that she would learn to play. But over time,
the guitar collected dust while she put all of her musical efforts
into singing along to her favorite albums. Along with the Beatles,
her influences included Carly Simon, Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel,
Donovan, and later, Bob Seger, Hall & Oates, Crosby, Stills,
Nash & Young, Journey, Lone Justice and Fleetwood Mac (especially
Stevie Nicks). With each song, she would mimic the singer with her
hairbrush as a microphone and in that way learned to sing pretty
well.
At the age of 40, Glynis came into a deep spiritual relationship
with God. She was led to a church where there was a strong emphasis
on worship music. It was there that she heard a woman sing a solo
with a guitar that sounded so sweet it sparked the desire within
her to finally learn to play and write songs about how her life
was drastically changed through faith in Christ. With a new sense
of purpose, she has written over 40 songs. She has played at several
churches, written and performed songs for Christian events including
Meet Your Sisters At the Well at the Schwartz Center in Dover and
has also performed at our coffee house, singing original and cover
songs.
Delaware has been her home the past 40 years, but the early influence
of the South still lingers in her soul. She has a county flair to
her voice and still loves Patsy Cline and Brenda Lee. She writes
and sings with passion about the love of God and her family. Though
her Dad passed away before she could surprise him with the first
song she wrote on guitar for him, she was asked to play it at his
funeral. Somehow he must know that his vision for her came true.
The one true newcomer to our coffee house is Sean
Cheezum. Armed with a 6 string and a head full of dreams, Sean
breaks into the east coast scene with his catchy rhythms and heartfelt
lyrics, painting a mental picture of reality. "I have a different
perspective than most other people. I try to write my music in a
way to show the beautiful side, as well as the ugly side of life.
happiness as well as loneliness. Love, and hate. One thing cannot
exist without the other. Most forget that and pretend the negative
does not exist. Sometimes people need to be reminded that not everyone
is as well off and happy as you", says Sean. With his percussive
style and anti-mainstream mentality, he makes his way from place
to place spreading the joy of music as far as it will take him.
So if you're looking for something fresh and new, if you have an
open mind, and a taste for individuality stop by and check him out.
The plan is for these artists to take turns explaining something
about how they write, what inspires them, what makes a good song.
Then they’ll play one of their songs, maybe solo, maybe with
help. Kind of a song swap, but with an audience. So we’re
gonna do the best we can, and leave it to Greg’s spirit to
guide us the rest of the way. As with past years’ efforts
there’s no way to predict how this will come out; it’s
an experiment from start to finish. And remember--it’s not
FOR Greg, it’s BY Greg. It all starts at 7:30 pm, Saturday,
May 19, in Wells Theater on the Wesley College campus in Dover.
Wells Theater is in Slaybaugh Hall, which is at the corner of Cecil
St. And North Bradford St. Admission for this special coffee house
is only $5 for members and $7 for non-members, plus a donation for
the Delaware Food Bank. Lots of Kelly and Zeke’s fresh coffee,
sweet treats, and plenty of cool drinks will be there, and we hope
you’ll be there too.
-- John Kidd, DEFF President |
| I have to send out a HUGE thank you to many, many
people. On April 22nd, Cooldog Concert Series hosted a benefit for
the Delaware Friends of Folk. It was a total blast - it took about
a week for my body to stop hurting, but it was sooooo worth it.
Before you all ask for the results, I'll just give 'em to you -
we netted almost $2800.00 for the Friends of Folk, which comes very
close to wiping out the financial loss from last year's festival.
The bank account is now in much better shape, as we look forward
to this year's festival on October 5 & 6 (put it on your calendar
NOW!).
So, here are my thanks (and I hope I don't forget anybody)
-- To whoever arranged for that AWESOME weather! What a difference
sunshine makes!
-- To Rob Fox, of BBQ Grills at 1040 S. State Street, for the delicious
BBQ! And to Albert Gordy for the chicken!
-- To Walter Trifari & everybody at Fordham Brewing in Dover
- ask for Fordham when you're out on the town!
-- To all of the incredible musicians who donated their time and
talent to help us out - what an day of music we had!
-- To all of our volunteers - I know I'll forget to name them if
I even try, but they made the whole even work. THANK YOU!
-- To folks at the Dover Post and Delaware State News, who gave
us some really wonderful coverage!
-- To those of you who attended, and showed your support!
If you want to go back and see the web sites from the musicians
who performed, here they are: http://www.cooldogconcerts.com/upcoming/minifestival2007.html
Lost & Found - there were a few things left behind, including:
- a heart shaped necklace / charm
- a large, soft sided cooler (beer cooler sized, left out on the
lawn)
- a small, soft sided cooler (lunch size, left in the gazebo)
And in case you had to leave early and don't know who won the guitar,
it was.... Adolfo Lazo, the drummer from Tempest! Yes, Adolfo bought
a ticket to help support the organization, and wound up winning.
Adolfo does play guitar and writes some songs, and let me tell you,
he will treasure this one. The lead singer from Tempest, Leif Sorbeye
has some artistic talent, and Adolfo had him use a gold paint marker
to remember the event name, date, and line-up onto the back of the
guitar, and then had to wrap it up and ship it back home to California,
because they couldn't fit it into the van with all of their other
gear. As some of you know, Tempest stayed here at our home as houseguests
for a few nights after the benefit show, and it was delightful to
watch Adolfo take his guitar out back and play it by the pond.
Thanks again to all!!!
-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Board Member and Cooldog
Hostess
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